Respect and Dignity
by Rumbling Night Cutter
Summary: An idea that wouldn't die in my head after I read a fanfic I didn't like the ending to. Hiccup is the wife in the relationship, but he's chaffing under the confinement. Will he stay spineless or do something about it? One Shot,


**I'm really sorry about this, this blurb of OOCness that is this one-shot. I just needed it out of my head. It was inspired when I read a fanfic that was supposed to be humorous, but I found quite demining of Hiccup, and placing him back into his old role as Useless. I was rather unsatisfied by it, and this stemmed from it, and REFUSED TO DIE!**

**So, I needed it out desperately, and here it is. Angsty, OOC, and weird. AU where Hiccup and Astrid are married before HTTYD 2, and Stoick has retired. But Hiccup is not satisfied with the downward spiral his dignity went.**

**Im so, so sorry, but the idea refused to perish until it was posted, and it was driving me bonkers.**

**I am so ashamed of this. There are so many holes in logic, and I think I made him sound like a glory hog. Most likely it will be taken down within a week, but it kills the idea in my head.**

"Bud," Hiccup said. "I just realized something."

Toothless looked up from his slab of rock to where Hiccup was sitting on the newly changed furs of the bed. How did he know they were newly changed? He'd been the one to change them.

"I'm a housewife!" Hiccup threw his hands in the air, and Toothless cocked his head to the side.

"Think about it!" Hiccup groaned in frustration, a hot, clogging feeling in his gut. "I cook, I clean, I heal her wounds, I fix her armor, I sew her clothes! Hel, I even do the flower arrangements!"

He glared at a potted plant like it had spit on his mother's grave. "I mean, I when has _she _ever done anything around the house? Huh? Has she ever cooked _me _a meal? Or ever helped me with cleaning around here? She's so messy, I haven't been able to go for a stunt flight with you, or a good all-nighter in the forge, because I'm so tired after cleaning up after her!"

He ran his hands through his hair and sighed.

"Even worse, she might as well be the Chief! She declares the wars, handles things around the village, lads the armadas! She's even running the Dragon Academy!"

Hiccup got up and paced. "I mean, how did this even happen!? I was the one who killed the Red Death-"

Toothless growled indignantly. Ok, fine, Hiccup though. Toothless was a big part of it. He deserved lots of credit. "Ok, I was half the effort in-"

More indignant growls. "Um, helped?" Toothless snarled more.

Hiccup gulped. Not Toothless too. "Was present for the defeat of the Red Death?"

To his horror, Toothless nodded in satisfaction.

Hiccup felt sick. Over the past year, people had been saying that he was not so much a big part in the Queen's defeat as they originally thought. He'd only been controlling a tail fin. Surely he couldn't have been all that important. But without him, Toothless couldn't even get off the ground, let alone make the aerial maneuvers that were needed in that fight.

But, apparently, he'd only been a bystander, and his leg was no longer a cool battle scar to them.

Snotlout had called it _collateral damage. _A mistake.

His stump ached and he sat back down.

"Ok," His voice shook a little. "Fine then Toothless. I was more up close and personal than most of the Vikings. And, during the battle, I was the one who made the plan. Astrid wasn't the one giving them orders, finding ways to take the Red Death down. So what qualifies her to become the chief while I'm all cooped up in here, a housewife!"

The pain in his too short leg forgotten, he got up and walked to the door, no longer talking to the black reptile behind him. "You know what, NO!" He said, suddenly filled with determination.

"I won't stand for it! I really won't. Just because she's a tough Viking doesn't mean that I have to become the wife! As soon as that woman comes home I'm giving her a piece of my-"

He wrenched open the door and there was Astrid.

"AGH!" He yelled and jumped back prothetic digging into his stump. He hadn't been able to mantinace it in a few months, because he was to busy BEING THE HOUSEWIFE!"

Clear rage boiled in him. "Woman!"

The rage was evaporated into fear as she glared at him. "What," She said in a dangerous tone.

"Um, sweetie?" He tried again, and an indignant part of him screamed. _Again! I'm back writhing under people's heels, scared of them again!_

He gulped. "Um, dear,"

"Get on with it." She said, still glaring.

"Well, Milady, you see, um," He stuttered. She started to make a mess again, throwing her axe and demolishing decorations, denting the walls and floor with tossed armor.

"You know, Milady," She said teasingly, but it had the opposite affect on Hiccup. His chest twinged with indignance and hurt. "I think I should start calling you that. I mean, your more lady than me." She grinned at Hiccup mischievously, but his dignity withered even more.

"Um, Astrid," He wrung his hands. "I, well, I've been feeling a bit too... domestic... and well..." He squirmed a bit. "I don't really feel like it's fair."

He looked down.

And she started laughing.

Laughing.

He couldn't believe his ears,

"Wh-what?"

She chortled. "Hiccup, don't you remember, I'm a horrible cook, and a horrible cleaner. You actualy made me go away so you could handle it yourself! Besides!" She rested her hands on his shoulders and smiled lovingly. "I think your much safer in here! Your still a little skinny twig. The enemies could couch and you'd be floored."

That stung, no matter how much love was in her voice.

Because she wasn't teasing. She was being truthful. She honestly thought he was as fragile as a twig. He felt sick. They were right. He was weak, useless, a bystander! He was just a housewife!

He kept a blank expression, and suddenly she lifted him up and slung him over her shoulder. "Come on!' She said. "I've been a bit lonely."

He was tired, but he knew there was no point in protesting. Astrid always got what she wanted.

* * *

Hiccup lay awake that night. Astrid was curled into his side, but he couldn't unwind the knot of sickness in his gut.

He wasn't a man, he was a child.

Astrid loved him, but he didn't like how he was being treated as a housewife. She had griped and complained about becoming this during the engagement, but just because she didn't want to be like this doesn't mean he did.

Hiccup got up and looked at the water basin, gazing at his reflection.

He saw someone weak, he saw someone without a will.

He saw the return of Hiccup the Useless.

"Never again!" He growled and plunged his fist into the water. These past few years he'd faced Berzerkers, Outcasts, the Screaming Death, The Skrill, Tooothless's rival, the ENTIRE VILLAGE when they turned against Toothless.

But in the end, it didn't even matter.

Well, he would MAKE it matter. If he couldn't earn respect as Hiccup, Partner of the Night Fury, then he would find another way!

He loved Astrid. He loved her so, so much that he couldn't imagine life without her. But he couldn't do this anymore. He didn't ant to be the village's joke anymore!

He looked at his desk in the corner, one of the designs on it. He grabbed it and headed off to the forge, not bothering to clean up the house on his way out.

Hookfang and Barf and Belch would be helping.

Because they were integral parts of Inferno.

He would pound the vessel that would earn him his way back to respect tonight, then would start training with it in the morning.

* * *

Astrid woke up alone. She hadn't in months. Hiccup had always been beside her since the marriage from the moment she opened her eyes. But the space beside her was cold.

"Hiccup?" She called, and got no answer.

After getting up and getting dressed, she began to look for her husband. He was not anywhere in the house, so she tried the forge. It was strewn with reject metal and bits and bobs, signs that Hiccup had recently been active in here. She went into his workshop and the only paper inside was a big scrawl.

NEVER!  
AGAIN!

She looked at it worriedly, a pit of dread in her heart.

She found the rest of the gang in the street. "Why aren't you at the academy?" She asked, and Tuffnut shrugged. "Hiccup kicked us out. Said he had something to do in there all day."

Astrid raced to the former kill ring, and her mouth dropped open at what she say.

Hiccup had built himself a new leg, stronger and sturdier than any of the larger replicas of Gobber's handywork. But in his hand was a sword. A **_flaming_ **sword. He was swinging it through the air, the orange flames making a curtain of heat in the air.

He was slow, and clumsly, but not actualy all that bad. And she could tell he was determined to get better.

"Never again!" She heard him mutter.

"Never again, never again, never again, never again!" His chant as he tore apart the training dummies, then ran up and started punching them.

"Dad doesn't respect me! Toothless doesn't respect me! Astrid doesn't respect me!" He yelled, and riped a dummy apart with a punch.

"I will never be Hiccup the Useless again!"

Her heart stood still, and she couldn't stand just listening.

"Hiccup!" She called and had to duck as the flaming sword was slashed at her.

"Astrid?" He gulped. "What are you doing here?"

"Looking for you!" She said. "I was kinda worried when you weren't there when I woke up. Someone might have kidnapped the Chief of Berk-"

"You would know then, wouldn't you! Because you practically are the chief!" He snapped suddenly. "Meanwhile, I clean up after your messes! I cook for you, I sew for you, I clean the house, I make the bed, I repair your armor! Im the damned HOUSEWIFE!" He screamed, flailing the firesword around. "And I'm sick of it, it's like being Hiccup the Useless all over again! I tried to tell you last night, but you waved me off like a child. I went so far from that title, I fought so hard to get rid of it! But it didn't matter in the end! Just because you won't be the submissive housewife everybody expects doesn't mean I will! I love you Astrid, But I don't want it to be like this, where I have nothing and you have everything!"

She was frozen at his words. "What-what do you-"

"I just want to be worth the time and effort you put into me! I hate being cooped up in there, just as much as you would, Astrid!" He stabed his fire sword into the ground and laid against the wall.

"I love you Astrid, but I can't just be a housewife."

She sat down next to him and rubbed his shoulder. "Did I really drive you back there?"

He nodded numbly. "I'm weak, and useless, just like everyone says. Even Toothless agrees." He moaned, then looked at the fire sword. "Why do I even bother?!" He flung the weapon away, but Astrid caught it.

"No, Hiccup. Your right. Your not useless!" She said, and thrust the fire sword back into Hiccup's hands. "Now prove it."

And he did a few weeks of training, and Hiccup could use inferno to fight most of the other young adults to a standstill he was even able to hold his own against Stoick for a good half hour. There was just one person he couldn't beat though he did put up a good fight...

* * *

"Where have you been," Astrid said as she dismounted Stormfly on the newly named Itchy Armpit. "Avoiding Dad." He said. "But, at least I'm not at home." He said. "We haven't cleaned in week since I abandoned the job."

His wife laughed softly, then turned serious. "I'm sorry for doing that to you Hiccup. Driving you back to the point where you thought you were useless. And Toothless was just being an arse that day. I think the twins snuck him mead."

They sat in front of the map, and began drawing in the new island. Astrid was still very much the stronger of the pair, but at least now Hiccup had a little respect.

**Like I said. I'm ashamed of myself. But the idea wouldn't die, so, I'm making you all suffer with me. It'll most likely be taken down tonight. I just needed a more satisfactory end to a story like that. But be on the lookout for Pet Day and Time Fury!**


End file.
